The Tribune

By RENALDO DORSETT

Sports Reporter

rdorsett@tribunemedia.net

Four weeks into the academic year, the athletic calendar gets underway for the Bahamas Association of Independent Secondary Schools with the 2013 softball season.

A total of 42 teams will compete in four divisions this season, with opening pitches set for September 23 at various locations throughout New Providence.

Senior boys and junior girls will play Mondays and Wednesdays, while junior boys and senior girls take to the field Tuesdays and Thursdays.

Senior boys will field the most teams with 12 and will be the only division to play on Fridays. The junior boys will field 11 teams, senior girls,10 and junior girls, nine.

The Queen’s College Comets (QC), Nassau Christian Academy Crusaders (NCA), Kingsway Academy Saints (KWA), St Andrew’s Hurricanes (SA), St Augustine’s College Big Red Machine (SAC), St Anne’s Blue Waves (SAS), Jordan Prince William Falcons (JPW) and Aquinas College Aces (AQ) will be the only schools to field teams in all four divisions.

The Charles W Saunders Cougars (CWS), St John’s College Giants (SJC) and Bahamas Academy Stars (BA) will field three teams, while the Westminster College Diplomats (WMC) will only compete in the senior boys’ division.

The playoffs are scheduled to begin November 5 and championship series on November 8.

The 2013 season will see the BAISS enter a new venture with games played at several neutral sites.

Home games for the Blue Waves and Crusaders senior boys will be hosted at the Freedom Farm Complex, Yamacraw Drive, while their teams in the remaining divisions will host games at the respective campuses.

Each of the Falcons’ teams will host home games at the Pinewood Gardens Park, the Giants will host at the Stapledon Gardens Park and the Stars at the Baillou Hills Sporting Complex.

The Diplomats have yet to identify a home field and will have to notify schools where their field will be located.

Day one in the senior boys’ division will be highlighted by the defending champion Falcons travelling to face the Blue Waves.

In 2012, their third appearance in the championship, the Falcons claimed their first BAISS softball title in a two-game sweep of the Big Red Machine. They easily took game one 24-12 and followed with another lopsided win in game two (22-7).

The Big Red Machine will begin their road back to the championship series this Monday when they travel to face the Aces.

The Comets, the defending champions in the junior girls’ division, will open at home against the Cougars.

Last season, the Comets completed a two game sweep of the Hurricanes, 10-6 in game one and 20-15 in game two.

The Hurricanes will also open at home when they take on the Big Red Machine.

On Tuesday, the junior boys’ division will feature a rematch of the 2012 championship.

The Big Red Machine begin their title defence on the road in a rematch with the Comets.

SAC won a close game in the opener (6-2) and took game two in a rout, 22-13.

In the senior girls’ division, the Crusaders will look to repeat their 2012 title run when they host the Saints on day one.

In the most closely contested of the four series last year, the Crusaders won 15-14 in game one over the Big Red Machine and overcame a 10-run deficit late in game two to win 25-19.

The Big Red Machine will open the 2013 season on the road when they face the Hurricanes. All game times are at 4pm.

In 2012, the BAISS and Government Secondary Schools Sports Association aligned their schedules to compete in the same sports simultaneously in an effort to properly stage national championships.

This year the GSSSA will revert to the previous schedule with volleyball the first sport hosted and softball last on the calendar.

Furthermore, the GSSSA is in the midst of shifting from softball to baseball for senior and junior boys.

BAISS convener for softball, Ainsworth Beckford, said the league hopes to continue its parity with four different schools claiming championships in each of the divisions.

“The playing of baseball was rejected by member schools who cited a lack of suitable playing facilities for the game which must be completed in seven weeks,” he said.

GSSSA president Alfred Forbes outlined the reason for the change in the synchronized schedules.

“Last year, we went through a trial period to see if they can be in line with the other local high school bodies like the BAISS and the Grand Bahama High School Sports Association so they could coincide with the hosting of the Bahamas Softball Federation’s annual Austin ‘King Snake’ Knowles High School Softball Tournament.

“We wanted to make sure that all of our teams are prepared for that tournament, which is a major one for the schools. But the availability of the gyms was a difficulty for us at the end of the school year when we played volleyball last year because they were being used for the school examinations,” Forbes said. “By moving softball back to the end of the calendar year, the GSSSA will have sufficient time to iron out all of the knits to ensure that they can get ready next year for the introduction of baseball into their system.”

BAISS Softball Schedule

Monday September 23

Senior Boys

JPW Falcons at SAS Blue Waves (Freedom Farm)

NCA Crusaders at KWA Saints

QC Comets at CWS Cougars

SA Hurricanes at WMC Diplomats (TBA)

SJC Giants at BA Stars (Baillou Hills Complex)

SAC at AQ Aces

Junior Girls

JPW Falcons at SAS Blue Waves

KWA Saints at NCA Crusaders

CWS Cougars at QC Comets

SAC at SA Hurricanes

Tuesday September 24

Senior Girls

SA Hurricanes at SJC Giants

QC Comets at SAC

BA Stars at JPW Falcons (Pinewood Park)

AQ Aces at NCA Crusaders

SAS Blue Waves at KWA Saints

Junior Boys

SJC Giants at SA Hurricanes

SAC at QC Comets

JPW Falcons at BA Stars (Baillou Hills Complex)

NCA Crusaders at AQ Aces

KWA Saints at SAS Blue Waves